Why did Jesus wait 4 days before raising Lazarus? (John 11:1-44)

We know Jesus waited 4 days to raise Lazarus.  But why so long?  Of course, we know raising Lazarus showed Jesus's deity glorifying Jesus and glorifying God.  We also know it was good for strengthening the faith of the disciples but here is one thing many might not know...

Jewish mysticism of the day was that the soul stayed near the body for 2 days after death.  The Bible contradicts that belief; however, that was a commonly held belief at that time.  In the same way, today many believe incorrectly that being a good person alone will allow them into heaven. We know this is also incorrect and contradicts scripture (John 14:6).  So, we can see some of the commonly held beliefs even of religious people of each era often have nothing to do with scripture.

Jesus may very well have raised Lazarus well past that 2-day time frame so that ALL would realize that he had power over death and believe in Him.

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